Author: Michael Floyd

The following is a talk I delivered on March 8, 2026 in the Heritage Ward of the Eagle Mountain Utah Eagle Valley Stake:

Living the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Good afternoon brothers & sisters. My name is brother Floyd and I am excited to share a message today about living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I earnestly pray for the help of the Holy Ghost as we consider the importance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the “good news” of how to be saved. It is simple to understand. But living it is not as simple and many become frustrated and fail to live it because they do not know the techniques of living it.

First we need to lay the foundation for understanding the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are the literal children of Heavenly Father, born as spirit children to Him long ago. Our Father in Heaven sent one of His sons to organize this earth, for His children to live on and enjoy. Our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, put plants, animals, and people on this earth. Satan, who is also on the earth, tempted the first people on earth, Adam and Eve, to disobey our Heavenly Father, and thus fall and become mortal. Because we humans are now mortal, we do wrong things and we will die. Heavenly Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to become a mortal also. Jesus Christ lived a perfect life, doing no wrong, and was able to suffer the pains of justice for all the wrongs the rest of us have done or will do, and to die for us that He might have the power to resurrect each of us from the grave. By living the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we can be saved through Jesus Christ and become like him. To become like Christ and be forgiven of our sins, we must do five things:

1. Do faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.
2. Repent of all the wrongs we have done.
3. Be baptized by immersion to declare that we will live a life of faith in Jesus Christ.
4. Receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands of those who have power to give it.
5. Endure to the end, our eternal goal, which is to become like Christ.

I will now provide gems of the gospel and help define it:

The Gem of Faith: Faith in Jesus Christ is the priceless gift to us which enables us to become like Jesus Christ. It is the deliberate acceptance of divine power to replace evil with good in our lives done through Jesus Christ.

In modern-day English, “Faith” has become diluted with a thousand different meanings & definitions. Often Faith is used as a synonym for Belief. However, that is not so in the scriptures. The New Testament word for Faith is translated from the Greek word “Pistis” (Pis-tis). The nearest definition today would be equivalent to a covenant or contract. Thus we can understand, Faith does not mean wishing hard, but to act with integrity to accept and fulfill the terms of the covenant.

To “do” faith in Jesus Christ is to trust Him so much that we firmly believe in Him and to do all He asks us to do. We can believe in Him because the Holy Ghost assures us that Jesus Christ is real and wants to save us from doing wrong things. But just believing is not faith in Christ.

Faith in Jesus Christ is willing and immediate obedience to some message received from Jesus Christ. The message may come through another person, from the scriptures, from your conscience, as well as from the Savior Himself. What all these messages will have in common is that they will be given by the power of the Holy Ghost.

I must obey, for faith is a principle of action. As we read in James: Faith without such works is dead. It must be willing obedience. It must be immediate. To have true faith in Christ one must have learned about the Savior, enjoy what they are learning, be instructed to do something, and respond with an action as directed by the Holy Ghost. Faith in Christ is something one does, not something one sort of has.

If one will pray with real intent, then you will come to know by the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith was his prophet to restore the gospel in this latter-day dispensation, the Book of Mormon is true, and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true and living church on the earth. As you follow the whisperings of the Holy Ghost, then you are now exercising true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. (James 2:14–17). This faith enables you to replace the evil in your own spiritual hearts with good, until you come to have pure hearts. (Mosiah 3:19) As you continue in the path of faith, nothing wavering, your faith becomes stronger and stronger until you can do all things in Christ. (D&C 50:23–24) The end of the path of faith is to come to the point where you can love with a pure love and bless others even as Christ himself does. (Eph 4:11–13)

Christ is able to help us, stop doing wrong things, and do only good things for others, through the pure love that He gives to all who really believe in Him. This brings me to the next gem – repentance.

(The Gem of repentance): Repentance is the engine which makes possible the perfecting of a human soul. It is Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that powers this engine.

Repentance is to replace every act of your life, which is not an act of faith in Jesus Christ, with an act of faith in Jesus Christ. To replace one act is to begin to repent. This is the crux of living the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

To repent of all the wrongs we have done is to study our own lives and actions and to compare what we do with what Christ would have us do. Where we find differences, we repent by changing what we do to match the pattern of Christ, which is to begin to act just as He did. The goal of repentance is two-fold: to repair damage done to others and to gain a new character, remade in the image of Christ. Repentance is the first-fruit of true faith in Christ.

To the Greek, mind is what is important. Their word for repentance is metanoeia (met-a-noi-a), which means to change the mind.

The Romans, were people of action. Their word for repentance, pentere (pent-er-e), is the ancestor of our English word repentance, and means to act differently, to turn away.

The Hebrew emphasis is on the heart. When the heart changes, that is real repentance. But the mind and actions must also change with the heart. If the mind or actions change without the heart, repentance is shallow and ultimately ineffective.

The first fruit of true faith in Jesus Christ is repentance, and the first fruit of true repentance is baptism in the New and Everlasting Covenant.

The Gem of Baptism & receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost: To be born again of water and of the Holy Spirit is the unique access to a fullness of life as a son or daughter of Jesus Christ and an heir to all He is and has (John 10:10, Romans 8:16–17).

To be baptized by immersion by one having true authority from Christ is to publicly make the promise that we will take upon us the name of Jesus Christ, will always remember Him, and will obey all the commandments He gives to us. To be born again is to be changed, to become a new creature in Christ, with a different heart, might, mind, and strength (2 Cor 5:17). This change is wrought by power, and can only be accomplished when one is baptized by Priesthood authority and makes the changes offered (D&C 20:73). Baptism by water is for the later remission of sins. It is a necessary prerequisite for remission, but does not wash away any sins. The baptism of the Spirit is what remits sins. We learn this truth in 2 Nephi 31:17 (emphasis mine): “Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.”

Baptism is a New and Everlasting Covenant. It is new because it replaces the original covenant given to Adam and Eve when they were placed in the Garden of Eden. It is everlasting because it is made possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ (Abraham 3:22–25, Moses 6:56–60).

To receive the Holy Ghost we must have the laying on of hands by one who has authority, then pray and seek earnestly to have the Holy Spirit be our constant companion and guide. The Holy Ghost is willing to be our constant companion and guide if we do, and say, and feel, the things He tells us to do, and say, and feel. To receive the Holy Ghost is the baptism of the spirit.

The Gem of Enduring to the End: Faith, repentance, and being born again of the water and of the spirit are means, not ends. These principles, while enduring to the end, teach us to become like Christ and inherit Eternal Life with Him.

To endure to the end is to obey the Holy Ghost until we become a new person, remade in the image of Christ Himself, then to maintain that faithfulness until we die. Enduring to the end is to become pure in heart, which means to be given a new heart by our Savior. This new heart enables us to love with the pure love of Christ. (The entire chapter of Moroni 7 teaches us this truth).

The most difficult step of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to endure to the end. To do so takes all of our attention until we deliver all of our heart, might, mind and strength unto Christ to do only His will and to bless all those around us through the pure love that comes only from Him.

(Check talk time, continue with the clues below if you are under the time)

When people fail to keep their covenant of baptism and fail to endure to the end, it is often because they do not know how to do it. The following are clues from the scriptures as to how to endure to the end.

Clue one: Be humble. Our Savior said to the Nephites: “And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in nowise receive these things. And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.” (3 Nephi 11:37–38) The opposite of being as a little child and humble is to be proud. The proud think they have things figured out and they don’t need to be saved. But those who are humble know they need all the help they can get, and are willing to receive the Holy Ghost and to learn to be obedient to Christ through the whisperings of the Holy Ghost.

Clue two: Let your heart guide. Our hearts, not minds, should be the controlling factor in our decisions. Of course we need to use our minds, but the most important thing we can ever gain in mortality is a pure heart. This pure heart is attained as a gift from God. A pure heart is one that has learned to be selfless, thinking only of others and how to further their welfare. God is most interested in helping His children to love each other. Love is not a rationally achieved thing. It is the gift of God to all who learn to love God and to obey Him in the works of righteousness with all of their hearts. The works of righteousness are doing good deeds for our neighbors under God’s direction. The first two great commandments to love God and neighbor comes only by purifying our desires, our hearts, then obeying God in all the works of righteousness. Laman and Lemuel could not serve God because they were trying to do it rationally. Nephi said to them: “Ye are swift to do iniquity but slow to remember the Lord your God. Ye have seen an angel, and he spake unto you; yea, ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words; wherefore, he has spoken unto you like unto the voice of thunder, which did cause the earth to shake as if it were to divide asunder.” (1 Nephi 17:45) We feel with our hearts, not with our minds.

Clue three: Always pray first. Nephi taught: “But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.” (2 Nephi 32:9) It is so easy not to begin each task with prayer because we think we know already what to do. That is a form of pride. We need to remember that we are nothing without Christ. (John 15:5)

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I have attempted to summarize basic elements of the most important and “good news” any person anywhere in the world can ever receive–the message that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is restored & true and that living the Gospel will bring you everlasting joy!

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I testify that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. Heavenly Father has created a plan for us to return to live with Him again. Jesus Christ is central to that plan. Living the Gospel of Jesus Christ is how we can become unified and create Zion among us. I testify that the Book of Mormon is true! We have prophets on the earth to guide us today! Jesus Christ leads this Church. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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(If I need more time)

We are blessed to have the Book of Mormon which contains the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gem of the Book of Mormon is that: The Book of Mormon is the most important book in the world.

The Book of Mormon will bring a person closer to God than any other book if they will follow its teachings. Its purpose is to enable us (every human being) to come to Christ and be perfected in him (Moroni 10:30–33). It gives the plainest insights into the struggle in this world between good and evil of any book. It is a solid piece of physical evidence to the truthfulness of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, to the mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and to the fact that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church upon the earth today.

I know the Book of Mormon is true!

This was my own outline for a talk that my wife was giving. I wanted to provide some insight for her to help her figure out what she wanted to say. This talk outline is not entirely complete as I would need to add at least two more sections to fit into a 10 minute talk. Enjoy!

Tokens or Symbols Help Me Remember My Covenants with the Lord (Gen 9:8-17)

God doesn’t forget his covenants, but how often do we forget?

How do we always remember the Lord? We just took the sacrament where we renewed that covenant:

We can remember the Lord by recognizing the symbols in our life with the understanding that all things Physical can remind us of all things Spiritual into the Eternities.

• Sacrifices from Adam -> Moses and Moses -> Jesus = Sacrifice of the Son of God
• The ark which saved 8 souls from the water = saving power of the everlasting covenant
• Rainbow = God’s forbearance and will not be removed until He is again ready to destroy the world
• Tower of Babel = Men attempt to find God without Jesus (finding another way)
• Light = guidance and goodness
• Darkness = Stumbling around in evil
• Abraham Sacrificing Issac (attempt) = Father’s sacrifice of His Only Begotten
• Moses holding the brazen serpent = Look, have faith on the Savior, be saved
• Rituals of Law of Moses = Types & Shadows of the Atonement
• Cross whereon the Savior was crucified = Evil of this world that would kill a God
• Parables taught by the Savior = Likeness of things physical to things spiritual
• Liahona = Guidance of the Spirit
• Urim and Thummim = Power of seership
• Destructions of the people in the Book of Mormon leading up to the Savior’s coming = Events accompanying the 2nd Coming of the Savior
• Temples = Mountains where you commune with God (and vice versa)

We can remember the Lord by participating in the ordinances of the Gospel. The ordinances, which are all symbolic, are designed to point us to the Savior.

• Sacrament – Atonement (Resurrection & Salvation i.e. overcome death, physical and spiritual); Us reaching out to partake voluntarily of the promise to obey God in all things
• Baptism – Born Again (John 3) as a child of God, this is how Jesus is both the Father and the Son; Washed clean through the blood of the lamb;
• Holy Ghost – Anointing us; Giving a gift; Receiving God’s blessings
• Temple Endowment – which is full of symbols where you receive gifts from the Father to teach you the plan of salvation and bring you into His Presence; Trust taught for everyday living & for Eternity living
• Temple Sealing – united, bound, linked, tied, welded, sealed, married;

Professor Riddle of BYU taught:

The Lord employs every opportunity to use physical things to teach us things spiritual. As we receive this teaching under the influence of the Holy Ghost, we are given an understanding of the truth sufficient for our salvation. If, after all this, we will not accept the ways of the Lord, it is to our own account. After these many witnesses we cannot stand blameless.

Suffice it to say that symbols are at once the key to our exaltation and the lock that damns us. Only as we are honest in heart and hunger and thirst after righteousness do they become the means for our blessing which our Lord intends.

We can remember the Lord by learning to Love God, then Love our neighbor (1st & 2nd great commandments). What does it mean to Love God? …………

To conclude, I would like to share a great quote from President Holland when he was President of BYU. He helped me understand the connection God wants to make with me when he said:

A sacrament could be any one of a number of gestures or acts or ordinances that unite us with God and his limitless powers. We are imperfect and mortal; he is ­perfect and immortal. But from time to time—indeed, as often as is possible and ­appropriate—we find ways and go to places and create circumstances where we can unite symbolically with him, and in so doing gain access to his power. Those special moments of union with God are sacramental moments—such as kneeling at a marriage altar, or blessing a newborn baby, or partaking of the emblems of the Lord’s supper. This latter ordinance is the one we in the Church have come to associate most traditionally with the word sacrament, though it is technically only one of many such moments when we formally take the hand of God and feel his divine power.

These are moments when we quite literally unite our will with God’s will, our spirit with his spirit, where communion through the veil becomes very real. At such moments we not only acknowledge his divinity, but we quite ­literally take something of that divinity to ­ourselves. Such are the holy sacraments.

As I have studied the subject of this talk, I have come to realize that tokens can be defined as the “evidence” of the covenant. They are how we make, receive, and remember the covenants we make. Without these tokens, think “evidences”, we truly unite our purpose with God’s purpose. I have come to learn that symbols are used to teach us continually throughout life. When I was baptized, I didn’t realize all of the deep meanings that were portrayed, I just knew that I was following the example of Jesus. Now, I have a greater understanding of that covenant based on my further understanding of the symbols portrayed. I encourage you all to research the symbols of every ordinance and continue to seek revelation so that you may always remember the covenants are to direct us to Christ.

Testimony

“Behold my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me.” —Moses 6:34

Each year, a theme is chosen to encourage, inspire, and unite the rising generation around the world who are striving to follow Jesus Christ. The theme is typically a motto or a phrase based on a scriptural passage. Songs, artwork, and other materials have been created to incorporate the theme into activities, conferences, and church meetings.

Here are my impressions:

Walking with Him through covenants = Align our Purpose

Moses 1:39 teaches us the purpose of God which is to bring immortality & eternal life to His children. Only by following the Gospel of Jesus Christ can we return to His presence. The New & Everlasting Covenant of the Gospel has all of the covenants required for us to return. So by walking with Him through covenants, we are aligning our purpose to God’s purpose.

Walking with Him through prayer = Align our Will

The very familiar bible dictionary phrase for prayer helps us understand that we need to align our will with God’s will. We are His children and we can only ask for that which aligns with His will or else the prayer won’t be answered. So by walking with Him through prayer, we are aligning our will with His will.

Walking with Him through repentance = Align our character

Lastly, understanding true repentance where we change from being a natural man into a saint teaches us that we need to rid ourselves of all ungodliness. Repentance means that we are changing and that we seek to no longer make those mistakes. We are repenting and trying to be like Christ, thus by walking with Him through repentance we align our character with His character.

Conclusion

I am glad to have a son that is now in the youth program. I am grateful that he has chosen to walk with the Savior and has started to really grow up. The Aaronic priesthood has already helped him understand the importance of service, responsibility, and walking with the Savior.

My first General Conference I took notes in my missionary journal. These are the words I wrote directly after listening to Elder Jeffrey R. Holland give his speech on the Book of Mormon

The BOOK OF MORMON is TRUE!!!

I know the Book of Mormon is True! The Spirit bore powerful testimony of its truth. I can never deny the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. I know without a doubt the Book of Mormon is TRUE!

Come unto Christ & Be Perfected in Him